In a world defined by digital discovery and borderless creativity, the future of music isn’t born in one place – it blooms everywhere at once.
NEXT GEN, Billboard Georgia’s first-ever international editorial project, captures this global rhythm through a handpicked lineup of 24 rising artists from nine countries – each redefining what it means to be part of the sonic DNA of a new generation.
From Georgian soul and Italian rap rebellion to J-pop reimaginings, Afro-French lyrical fire and vibrant Vietnamese pop, these artists aren’t just riding trends – they’re creating them. One viral verse, sold-out show or heart-wrenching hook at a time, they’re shaping the sound of tomorrow.
This project was made possible through close collaboration with our extended Billboard family – including Billboard Italy, Billboard China, Billboard France, Billboard Japan, Billboard Vietnam, Billboard Philippines, Billboard Argentina, Billboard UK and Billboard Georgia – each of whom contributed their vision, insight and artist picks to build this truly global showcase.
As the first Billboard territory in Eastern Europe to lead an editorial initiative of this scale, Billboard Georgia is honored to contribute to this global conversation.
NEXT GEN is more than a spotlight – it’s a statement.
A love letter to the voices rising worldwide.
And a mirror reflecting what’s next for the music industry.
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Get ready, BLINKs. A Little Golden Book’s biography on beloved K-pop girl group BLACKPINK is currently available for preorder.
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The book can be preordered through Amazon for $5.99, and will be shipped out starting Dec. 2, just in time for Christmas. You can purchase a Kindle or a hardcover version for the same price. The biography, which was written by Jessica Yoon and illustrated by Honee Jang, chronicles the life of members Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé from their childhoods to trainee years under YG Entertainment, up until their eventual debut in 2016.
Readers are then taken on the whirlwind that was the girl group’s success through colorful imagery and descriptive text. The book highlights some major moments in the K-pop act’s career thus far, from releasing hits such as “How You Like That” and “DDU-DU DDU-DU,” to headlining major festivals such as Coachella. While this book is meant for younger readers in the 4 to 8-year range, it would make a great gift for BLINKs of all ages looking to learn more about the girl group they love.
If you’re not into BLACKPINK, A Little Golden Book has biographies on a slew of artists, K-pop or otherwise, including BTS, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Prince, Cher and Chappell Roan. On the non-music front, the book series also covers historic figures both old and new, including Rosa Parks, Serena Williams, Maya Angelou, Jimmy Carter, Colin Powell, Katie Ledecky and Jane Goodall. Each book is meant to give young readers a better understanding of important figures through easily digestible text and fun visuals. In simple terms, it makes learning fun.
BLACKPINK first hit the scene in 2016 with its debut song “Boombayah.” The song went on to top Billboard‘s World Digital Songs chart in the first week of sales. Fans have watched the girls rise to stardom, and now, BLACKPINK has many impressive accolades under its belt. The act is the first K-pop girl group to play at Coachella and to reach one billion YouTube views.
Fast forward to 2025, and the group’s single “Jump” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 with 123 million streams in the week ending on July 17. This achievement marks the girl group’s third No. 1 song on the chart after “Pink Venom” and “Shut Down.” With the group is breaking records left and right, they’re definitely biography-worthy.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-25 18:43:412025-07-25 18:43:41A Little Golden Book’s Colorful BLACKPINK Biography Is Now Available for Pre-Order
Another woman has filed a sexual misconduct police report against Smokey Robinson, widening the criminal investigation that began when four of the Motown legend’s former housekeepers leveled bombshell rape allegations two months ago.
A sergeant at the Malibu/Lost Hills station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department tells Billboard on Friday (July 25) that a woman came in last week to report sexual battery claims against Robinson.
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This woman, whose identity is not known, is now the fifth alleged sexual assault victim to report Robinson to criminal authorities in Los Angeles. An anonymous group of four former housekeepers for the 85-year-old singer filed a police report against him in May, after filing a $50 million civil lawsuit that claimed Robinson repeatedly raped them over the course of nearly two decades.
Robinson vehemently denies raping anybody and has described his ex-housekeepers’ claims as a greedy cash grab. The singer’s attorney, Christopher Frost, strikes the same note in a statement responding to news of the additional police report on Friday.
“It’s not surprising to us that in the context of very public allegations by the four interconnected Jane Does and their shared attorneys, no matter how untrue, news like this might emerge,” says Frost. “It’s one of the risks of being a celebrity, that others will take the same approach.”
Frost continues, “Our focus is on exposing the falsity of the Doe lawsuit, where the Does and their lawyers have taken a hit-and-run approach — making allegations against a beloved 85-year-old cultural icon and subsequently refusing to reveal their identities or unequivocally sit for a deposition, where the truth can actually be determined.”
Attorneys for the four housekeepers declined to comment on the development Friday.
The ex-housekeepers’ civil lawsuit alleges Robinson forced them to have oral and vaginal sex in his bedroom dozens of times between 2007 and 2024. The women are also suing the singer’s wife, Frances Robinson, claiming she failed to stop the alleged abuse despite knowing that her husband had a history of sexual misconduct.
The Motown star and his wife have responded by countersuing the women for defamation and elder abuse. The couple claims that they were “extraordinarily generous” with their housekeepers, but the women were all the while “concocting an extortionate plan to take everything from the Robinsons.”
Meanwhile, police are carrying out a separate criminal investigation into the claims. Frost has said he and the rest of Robinson’s legal team “welcome” the police probe, since they are “confident” it will clear the singer’s name.
Billy Joel may sing “my silence is my self-defense” on his Billboard Hot 100 No. 37 hit “And So It Goes,” but he’s not interested in remaining quiet about what he considers to be very wrong. The musician is once again condemning Donald Trump’s 2017 speech about the white nationalist’s Unite the Right rally that took place in Charlottesville, Va., in which the president said there were “some very fine people on both sides.”
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In part two of his Billy Joel: And So It Goes documentary on HBO Max, the five-time Grammy winner says that while he “never liked getting political on stage,” there are situations about which he feels the need to speak out, and this is one of them.
“Sometimes, there are things that happen and you can’t just look away,” he said of wearing a Star of David on his suit during his Madison Square Garden concert’s encore a week after the rally in silent protest. “I had to do something. I was angry. Here they are marching through an American city saying, ‘Jews will not replace us.’ We fought a war to defeat these people! And then when Trump comes out and says, ‘There were very fine people on both sides,’ he should’ve come out and said, ‘Those are bad people,’” says the musician.
“There is no qualifying it. The Nazis are not good people. Period!” he adds in the two-part project. “And I was very angry, and I had to do something, but I didn’t want to get up on a soapbox on stage and say, ‘This is wrong,’ so I wore the star. But basically to say, no matter what, I will always be a Jew.”
The Aug. 11, 2017, Unite the Right rally saw right-wing groups and white nationalists clashing with counterprotestors, with Gov. Terry McAuliffe declaring a state of emergency and local officials calling it an “unlawful gathering.” James Alex Fields Jr., who CNN reported was a white supremacist from Ohio, purposefully drove his car through a group of counterprotestors, killing one woman and injuring dozens of others.
A federal appeals court ruled in July 2024 that white supremacist groups would have to pay $2 million in damages to people who suffered physical and emotional damages due to the rally.
In 2018, Joel explained during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning why wearing the Star of David at his MSG show was also personal. “My old man, his family got wiped out. They were slaughtered in Auschwitz. Him and his parents were able to get out,” he shared. “But then he was in the U.S. Army during the war and fought with Patton and was shot at by Nazis.”
He added at the time: “My family suffered. And I think I actually have a right to do that.”
Billy Joel: And So It Goes is available to stream on HBO Max. Part two arrives at 8 p.m. July 25.
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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Want to shop the best new product releases? In this guide, ShopBillboard highlights our favorite new product launches of the week. From tech-savvy gadgets, to trendy musician merch, to the hottest sneaker releases, we’ve sorted through the good and the best to curate a collection of new arrivals that are worth your time and money.
Shop the Best New Products to Buy This Week, At a Glance:
Don’t see anything you like? We will continuously update this article throughout the month with new releases we think you should know about. Until then, scroll down to shop the 10 best new products to buy this week.
If his music doesn’t already put you in a better mood, you can now bring home your very own crochet Prince doll that’ll rain purple love with its “emotional support” sign.
The classic Stan Smith sneaker gets a great redesign by Clot adding in a cozy espadrille sole for a more relaxing look. Grab a pair of the highly-sought after collab now before they sell out.
Bring color to your Kindle with this latest release. The 7-inch Colorsoft display is optimized for reading in color and is different from the Kindle Paperwhite display, which is optimized for only black and white reading. Users can now highlight their favorite scenes in yellow, orange, blue, and pink.
Nothing’s budget-friendly smartwatch boasts a new heart rate sensor, improved GPS tracking and a variety of new fitness features (including AI coaching) for casual runners. If you’re looking for great smart tech, this under $100 watch is great entry point.
Level up your office with this top-of-the-line display from Asus. The new monitor features an impressive 32-inch 6K screen and supports HDR10 and VESA DisplayHDR 600.
Your weekend uniform just got an upgrade. This classic fit crew neck pullover sweatshirt serves effortless style with its relaxed vibe and timeless design.
Looking for a great elevated summer shoe? The Chamula X Buck Mason is the best choice. The collab features a custom, handcrafted huarache silhouette with veg-tanned leather uppers, a stacked heel, and black rubber soles.
Bird watching never felt better. Forgo lugging around giant pieces of equipment and grab this lightweight portable scope for a better view of birds and the wonders of nature.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-25 18:17:152025-07-25 18:17:15The 10 Best New Products to Buy This Week: Shop adidas, Coach, & K-Pop Demon Hunter Merch
The Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack has already been slaying on the charts, and now, David Guetta is joining the project to give one of its songs an extra boost.
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Released Friday (July 25) and described in the press release as “a sparkling power pop version of ‘Golden,’ the viral song of the summer,” a new remix finds the DJ infusing the track with his signature EDM juice to ramp up the energy on the song, which appears on the June-released Demon Hunters album. The LP — which debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Soundtracks chart — accompanies Netflix’s animated musical fantasy film of the same name.
The revamped version of “Golden” arrives shortly after the original reached an eye-popping No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. With seven Hot 100 top 10 hits under his belt, Guetta’s involvement might just give the track the push it needs to reach No. 1 — a feat the original song already secured on the Billboard Global 200.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Kpop Demon Hunters executive music producer Ian Eisendrath said that he wasn’t surprised “at all” to see “Golden” become the the track from the film that fans rallied around.
“‘Golden’ was a song that we kept looking for — it had to be something transcendent, that functioned as the characters establishing what they want and were going to pursue for the rest of the film,” he recalled. “But then, it was also [the characters’] hit single [in the movie]! We felt like it had to be an aspirational pop song that we could get the audience to believe in and want for HUNTR/X.”
His work on “Golden” marks Guetta’s latest collaboration of 2025, with the French producer also dropping “Beautiful People” with Sia and “Cuentale” with Willy William and Nicky Jam earlier this year, among other songs and remixes. He’s currently in the midst of a residency at club [UNVRS] in Ibiza that wraps in October.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-25 18:17:142025-07-25 18:17:14‘Kpop Demon Hunters’ Campaigns for ‘Golden’ Song of the Summer With David Guetta Remix: Stream It Now
Travis Scott and Justin Bieber went head-to-head on the Billboard charts last week as La Flame and Cactus Jack unleashed JACKBOYS 2 while Bieber surprised fans with the arrival of Swag on July 11.
Scott appears to have been giving Swag some run and vibing with the project, as the Houston rapper praised the pop star’s R&B-leaning effort earlier this week.
“For the record bro slid,” Scott wrote to X with a photo of Bieber’s “YUKON” track playing. Fans hopped into Trav’s replies, hoping to see the pair of superstars reunite in the future.
Scott and JB teamed up back in 2015 on Rodeo classic “Maria I’m Drunk” alongside Young Thug. The Cactus Jack founder also saluted Bieber the following year on Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight‘s “Beibs in the Trap” featuring NAV.
Scott and Cactus Jack’sJACKBOYS 2 debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 232,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending July 17, according to Luminate.
The Houston Rager celebrated taking the top spot with a post to Instagram showing love to Cactus Jack co-founder/head of A&R, Bilal “Bizzy” Joseph. “THIS ONE FOR THE SQUUAAAADDDD. JB2 #1 @cactusjack,” he wrote. “let my brother bizzy Take the wheel on this one.”
Bieber’s surprise Swag album came in at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 163,000 album-equivalent units earned, but gave the star the biggest streaming week of his career to date, as the project went No. 1 on the Top Streaming Albums chart.
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Phoebe Bridgers has won another big court judgment against a recording studio owner who unsuccessfully sued the star for defamation after she accused him of “grooming” on social media.
Three years after Bridgers won a court ruling dismissing Chris Nelson’s libel case — a lawsuit she said was “frivolous” and meant to silence her abuse allegations — a Los Angeles judge on Thursday (July 24) awarded the singer $392,070, largely to cover hefty legal bills she spent defending herself.
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The new award is on top of an earlier judgment of $496,608 already won by Bridgers, meaning Nelson now owes the star a whopping $888,768 over his failed legal action. A big portion of the new penalty is simply interest on the original, which Judge Joseph Lipner noted Nelson has “refused to pay” for more than two years.
Nelson, the owner of Los Angeles’ Sound Space recording studio, sued Bridgers in 2021, claiming she had defamed him by posting false information to Instagram as part of a “vendetta” designed to “destroy plaintiff’s reputation.”
The lawsuit centered on a series of October 2020 posts, in which Bridgers said she had “witnessed and can personally verify much of the abuse (grooming, stealing, violence) perpetuated by Chris Nelson.” She also directed her followers to a separate thread from friend Emily Bannon, which contained more extensive allegations against Nelson.
Her lawyers quickly moved to end the case, arguing that Nelson was abusing the court system to “chill Ms. Bridgers’ allegations of abusive conduct, which are protected by the First Amendment.” Her lawyers invoked California’s “anti-SLAPP” law, which bars lawsuits that might silence free speech and foists monetary penalties on those who bring them.
In November 2022, a Los Angeles judge sided with Bridgers, tossing the case out of court. Months later, the same judge awarded the singer $496,608, citing the anti-SLAPP law’s so-called fee-shifting provision that requires an unsuccessful accuser to reimburse their target’s legal bills.
Nelson appealed the dismissal of his case, but a California appellate court upheld the decision in November, ruling that Bridgers’ claims of abuse were clearly the kind of speech that’s protected under the anti-SLAPP law.
“The post related to public concerns, especially prevalent in light of the #MeToo movement, about men using their power to abuse women,” the appeals court wrote at the time. “When public allegations of abuse are corroborated, it serves not only to further the discussion of the specific claims at issue, but also to embolden others who are being victimized to come forward.”
With that ruling in hand — and the original judgment still unpaid — Bridgers went after Nelson again. In March, she demanded that he repay the money she spent litigating the appeal, as well as substantial interest on the original. She said he had “not paid a penny” of the original fine and was “evading collection efforts.”
Attorneys for Nelson did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday (July 25).
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-25 17:57:072025-07-25 17:57:07Phoebe Bridgers Gets Legal Revenge Against Studio Owner Who Sued Her Over Abuse Claims
As we head deeper into the summer months, keep your summer playlists fresh with some new tunes from your favorite queer artists. Billboard Prideis proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ+ artists.
From Sam Smith’s tender new ballad to Lola Young’s angsty anthem, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Sam Smith, “To Be Free”
Since the start of their career over a decade ago, Sam Smith became known, primarily, for their singular voice. So, for their latest single “To Be Free,” Smith returned to the roots of their talent and delivered one of their most striking songs in years. Paired only with a single guitar and a choir of soulful voices from The TwoCity Chorus, Smith lets their gorgeous falsetto narrate a story of liberation, as they celebrate their own sense of true and unabashed freedom.
Lola Young, “d£aler”
The saying goes that “wherever you go, there you are” — no matter how far you run from your problems, you can’t run away from yourself. Lola Young is looking to learn that lesson the hard way on “d£aler,” her alternative ode to the act of dissociation itself. With impeccable vocals and just enough build to give it some extra drive, “d£aler” follows Young as she declares that she’s had enough of life’s bulls–t, and she’s picking up and moving on, come what may.
Tyler, the Creator, Don’t Tap the Glass
Less than a year after the release of his critically beloved album Chromakopia, Tyler, the Creator decided to give fans a little bit more to rock with this summer. Throughout Don’t Tap the Glass, Tyler still delivers the witty bars and eclectic instrumentation his fans have come to expect, but this time through the lens of a more straightforward, dance-inspired album. Whether he’s handing out warnings on “Stop Playing With Me” or diving deep into sex and desire on “Sugar on My Tongue,” Tyler spends the entirety of Don’t Tap showing himself and his fans a good time.
Kim Petras, “Freak It”
After leaning hard into the experimental lane on her last release “Polo,” Kim Petras is firmly bag in her big bold pop bag on her new song “Freak It.” Throughout this deliriously fun new track, Petras lets her sparkling voice take control on the instantly memorable pre-chorus, before she commands her fans to … well, freak it!
Maren Morris, “Be a Bitch”
After the breakout success of a song like Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild,” here’s hoping we get to see a new trend of “Destroying the Egos of Fragile Self-Important Dudes Via Song” like we do on Maren Morris’ latest track. “Be a Bitch” centers Morris’ sharp-as-ever songwriting, as she issues a takedown for a former lover who she lived to make happy. Now, though, she’s more than happy to let them have it, as she goes for the jugular with lines like “my reputation precedes me, your hairline recedes you.” Get ’em, Maren!
JHart, “Can’t Relate”
There’s no denying that JHart, the singer-songwriter behind multiple hits by Justin Bieber, Keith Urban, Cher, Usher and others, is an undeniable talent in the music biz. Yet “Can’t Relate,” the singer’s new original song off Netflix’s new docuseries Hitmakers, feels like yet another bit of proof as he flits around this grooving track as he pushes away the negativity to embrace the good vibes he’s looking for.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:
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The release caps off a tumultuous legal period for the Baton Rouge lyricist, who up until April was embroiled in multiple criminal cases. He pleaded guilty in November to his role in a prescription drug fraud ring, and in December was sentenced by a federal judge in Utah on gun charges. With his career and future on the line, YB was then unexpectedly pardoned by President Donald Trump in April. The rapper thanked the president profusely, promising to use this second chance to reconfigure his life.
“This moment means a lot. It opens the door to a future I’ve worked hard for and I am fully prepared to step into this,” the rapper said in a statement.
As these criminal trials unfolded, YoungBoy surprisingly didn’t pump the breaks on his historic output. In 2024, he still dropped off new music with I Just Got a Lot on My Shoulders, and returned again in 2025 with More Leaks, making MASA his second release this year. By May, YoungBoy was a completely free man, and across MASA’s whopping 30 tracks, the 25-year-old makes good on turning over a new leaf. There are a handful of records on this album where YoungBoy reflects on his past transgressions with a heartfelt amount of candor and honesty. In classic YoungBoy fashion, there are also plenty of rambunctious songs about sex, money, drugs and violence, meaning there are plenty of gems to suit any and every type of YoungBoy supporter.
So how do all these songs hold up? Check out Billboard‘s ranking of YoungBoy’s MASA tracks below.